Past Shows

Badass Theatre Company: Manifesto

Submitted by Bobby Bermea on
Tue, 2013-05-21 08:52

Theatre. It’s been around for as long as human beings have been human beings. For as long as there’s been one person here to tell a story and one person over there to listen, some form of theatre has existed. And as long as that single circumstance remains true, theatre will be around. When the internet and movies and TV and smartphones and even books are gone, theatre will still be here. That’s real. That’s primal. That’s badass.

Until very recently in the human consciousness, theatre was always associated with God, in whatever form or forms she or he might take. And even though in much of the world (but not all) theatre is now a secular enterprise, everywhere in the world, the altar, the performance space, the stage, is still a sacred space. It is a space where creation happens. It is a space where magic happens. It is a space where the entire human experience is lived and witnessed.

We’re not badass because we cuss a lot or take off our clothes. We’re not badass because we take the easy path to provocation and titillation. We’re not badass because we go out of our way to offend and repel. We are Badass Theatre Company because we take that tradition of theatre, that history, that calling as a sacred trust; because one way or another, whether it’s tragic or hilarious, sexy or terrifying, brutal, gentle, tender, shocking, mundane, sacred or profane, we recognize that people come to theatre to see the truth, to experience the truth and to be transformed by it. We’re badass because we don’t seek answers, we generate questions. We’re badass because we know life doesn’t begin when the lights go up nor does it end when they fall. We’re badass because we’re filled with wonder. We’re badass because we know that life on earth is a blazing, tumultuous, fantastic adventure and we’re not just here to mirror it, we’re here to create it. We’re badass because we’re diverse, in all the myriad meanings of that word, not because it’s politically correct, but because diversity is the true face of the world. We call ourselves Badass because all the rivers of history come together in this one company and create a lake of fire and that is the fire of creation.

Badass Theatre is not just a theatre company, it’s a way of looking at the world, it’s a choice about the world you want to live in, and it is a means of participating. Our plan, our goal, our work is to change the world around us, by challenging, educating, entertaining and dazzling the world around us!